


Noblesse Aftermath

by MeiHwa



Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:15:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27711895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeiHwa/pseuds/MeiHwa
Summary: Continuing the story after the Manhwa ended.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. An Opportune Meeting

~Click~Click~Click~

An Dea pulled down the camera to see how well the images turned out. Flipping through the last few, she was both pleased and displeased with the results. A sigh eased out of her and the camera dropped a few inches as she looked up. There was a slight breeze that lifted her straight black hair at the ends. Her whole look was as black and white as her photography. Her face was pale and her features stood out in stark contrast. It was perhaps the haughty, upwards tilt of her chin that kept many from approaching her. Simple black jeans that she could move easily to crouch and stretch in. Durable enough to hand her lying on the ground to get a special angle on a shot. Her backpack was strapped over her shoulders, pulling them back and keeping her back straight. The white shirt she wore was long sleeved and buttoned up to keep a professional appearance to those she approached for requests.

Two girls were chatting and coming towards her, so she instinctively stepped back out of their way. “An Dea-ssi? We really were impressed with your exhibit in the student hall. The pictures really touched us.”  
It took a second to process that they were talking to her. Looking up from her camera again, Dea looked at the two without much expression. She wanted to see if someone was sitting on the bench behind her, but resisted. “Thanks,” she said, still a little unsure why they were complimenting her. It was a set of pictures titled Loneliness #1-10. Most people didn’t want to admit how loneliness affected them.

“Oh! Sorry!” The girl on the left held up a hand to herself and gave her name and that of her companion. “Im Suyi and Seo Yuna. It's nice to meet you.” She smiled in a friendly way that made Dea a little uncomfortable as they both bobbed a little bow of greeting.

Responding in kind, Dea mirrored the little bow saying softly, “An Dea, but you know already.”  
Yuna clasped her hands in front of her chest and pleaded, “Please be our collaboration partner! I don’t mean to just blurt it out but...Please? You take such moving pictures and a photographer would be perfect for the project we are thinking about.”

“Please!” Suyi added to the pleading. “We can go have lunch together and talk about it and get to know each other. My treat.”  
The collaboration project: something she had been dreading since she first heard about it at the beginning of the year. At the college, she was surrounded by people but hadn’t made any friends. It was a requirement to collaborate with different majors to prove they could work with other people in the real world of employment. Dea didn’t even know what their majors were, but this was the first time anyone had approached her. It might be her last. “OK, sure,” and reflexively she asked, “Can I take a picture?”  
Both girls fell into a cute pose showing how close their friendship was. Dea snapped quite a few shots and smiled slightly at their expressions. As she was looking down at the captured images, Dea felt the other two fall in close beside her to see them as well.

“Awe Suyi, you're always so cute!” Yuna praised.

“You are too Yuna!” Suyi insisted. “Well do you two want to go to the cafeteria or the new barbeque place off campus?”

“Off campus,” Dea said almost immediately.

“Not a crowd person?” Suyi asked and nodded knowingly. “I get that. I have worked with a few artists that can’t handle crowds. Anywhere that makes you more comfortable is fine with me.”

Yuna added, “Suyi has to deal with the public a lot so we like less crowded places.” In a conspiratorial tone she added in a whisper, “She’s one of those types of artists now.”

“I know a little ramen shop nearby that's quiet,” Dea offered as a possibility.

Both girls stiffened beside her as they walked.

“Maybe another day.” Yuna managed to say as Suyi stayed quiet. “Our friend loved ramen. It was just a little group of us that grew in the few years we were at YeRan High School. We had a few foreign students that we lost,” she paused before continuing, ”well they went home and we lost touch.”

Dea knew loss. Her parents were gone and her brother joined the military. The only family she had left was her brother. Yuna said their friend loved ramen. Dea didn’t think Yuna ment her friend stopped loving it but just stopped. They way she said it sounded final like how her parents died. Being separated, like from their foreign friends and her own brother, just gave you a different feeling of loss. She didn’t know what to say. “Separation is a sad thing.”

Suyi nodded and brushed a finger over her eye.

As they walked, the girls told Dea a bit about themselves. When Yuna mentioned Suyi being a TV idol, Dea recognized her a bit better. Not being one that was current on all the new hot things in the world, Dea nodded as if she really understood but though she only recognized her from a few commercials for shows she didn’t watch. Not being swamped with admiration seemed to please Suyi so Dea said nothing.

They were seated at a private little table and they were served with Dea agreeing to all of the dishes they suggested. It wasn’t that she was indecisive or would complain about anything they put in front of her because Dea knew good manners. Suyi was buying and it didn’t feel right to be picky. She didn’t need to be. After the first bite, she was sighing in enjoyment.

“So the project!” Suyi started when they were starting to pick at their food because they were full. “We would like to do something for our old school.”

“YeRan High School.” Dea prompted to prove she had been paying attention.

“Yes. We were thinking we could do some advertisement brochures.” excitement filled Yuna’s voice. “Suyi is looking to have a good backup career and is studying what goes on around modeling and printed media. I’m on the teaching track and want to know what appeals to students and parents to keep everyone interested in learning. I remember reading the university brochures and going over their website to decide if we wanted to come here, remember Suyi?”

Nodding, Suyi asked, “I wonder if Ik-han would join us to build a site for the school?”

“I would think the new chairman would have done it already. I think he might even have been apprenticing Ik-han already. Ik-han still calls him Boss.”

Suyi sighed, “Oh, well it was worth a thought.”

“Still a good thought though,” Yuna looked like she was still thinking about it as Dea pulled out her phone. “Oh good idea. What does it look like, Dea?”

“Plain, old, like only the text has been updated with new dates and times.” This might be more interesting than she thought. It might be fun to take pictures at a school. “The site works wonderfully but could use some less technical information.”

A small laugh came out of Suyi, who had joined in on the internet search. “This is the building before it was renovated, twice.”

“Twice?” Yuna asked, “I thought it only happened once.”

“I went by there a week ago when I started thinking about the project. It's been repainted.” Suyi snapped her fingers. “We should go by and see if we can speak with the chairman about the project. Classes should be out. I was too embarrassed to ask on my own that day.”

“I’m free,”said Dea, still looking at her phone. The other two were quiet, too quiet, and it made her look up. They both looked ready to burst.

“Does that mean you’ll do it? We’ll all be partners?” Suyi asked, almost holding her breath.

“Yeah.”

They came around the table and tackled her from each side. Dea was shocked, a little uncomfortable and a strange, warm, fuzzy feeling filled her. When was the last time she’d been hugged? When was the last time she’d been touched? Slowly she hugged them back.


	2. Inconclusive

Frankenstein hung his head in his hands. He had gone quiet. It was too unusual for Tao to see him that way. “Boss, are you awake?” Tao asked in a whisper.

“I’m not really your boss anymore, am I?” Frankenstein answered softly without lifting his head. "You are the chairman of the school and do a fine job."

"For you, Boss" Tao smiled and leaned back against the desk with his arms crossed over his chest. "You do still own the school. I'll always answer to you." That response only got a small 'hmm' out of his boss. "Did you find any signs of the blood rain?" It was around there that Frankenstein had drifted off.

"Yes, everywhere. It's still inconclusive.” He lifted his head and tapped his folded fingers against his lips thinking, hoping. His eyes met Tao’s. “Has he appeared again?”

“It's hard to say.” Tao ran a hand over the back of his neck. “When I pass the room, I always think I see him there out of the corner of my eye. I have never caught it on camera. And, if you ask me, it's hard to tell if his legend is what stirs the sightings or if everyone really sees him. No one has had physical contact since the kids,” Tao paused when Frankenstein’s head dropped again. “Since the kids felt him vanish in their arms.”

“I should have been here!” Franken said in anguish. “I was so caught up in knowing what happened to him, I forgot to…” He trailed off covering his face with his hands.

“He said he wanted us to carry on with the lives our hearts desired. You live for your research. He knew that and would have expected nothing less of you.” 

"I live to protect him!" Frankenstein stood and paced in front of Tao. 

“Boss you,” Tao was reluctant to say it but the other agreed he’d have to, because they sure weren’t going to do it. “You might have to accept that he’s gone to his eternal rest.” Frankenstein stopped and glared at him for it. “You saw for yourself that the previous Lord left a spiritual message with a little of his life force. Rai could have done that for the kids. They all loved him so much.”

“Well, I wonder if that old bugger isn’t still alive too, just finally getting to live free of responsibility on some beach somewhere.” He started pacing again. “There is always a Noblesse. The previous Lord told me as much. Just like the Lord, there has always been one before and one after.”

“After eternal sleep?”

“I don’t know!” The frustration stewed in his words.” Master never spoke of what was before. No one remembered that long ago to tell me how master became the Noblesse or if he was just born that way.”

“I haven’t found any information in the Lukdonian archives either. Not all of their books and records have been digitized yet. What is digitized,” Tao shrugged, “Is mostly from the time when Rai was asleep. Of course, most mentions of him were of his actions as a traitor, which they are rewriting in the most current recordings.”

“They praise his actions now.” Frankenstein sat again like the fight faded from him. “The world is safe again. Knowledge of Nobles and Werewolves is spreading all over the world. There is a reluctant peace between the groups because they all know it went too far. Hopefully it will stay that way until the next Noblesse appears.”

Tao nodded as there was a buzz at his desk. He went around and brought up his surveillance screens. “M-21, what's up?”

“I’ve dropped the girls off at your door. They want to talk to you.”

A knock at his door told him that was all the warning he would get. Frankenstein managed to compose himself and stand before the girls came in. Tao gave a short laugh and opened the door. “Well this is a pleasant surprise! Come in! Im Suyi, Seo Yuna and who is your friend?”

“An Dea, Sir,” she replied.

“This is YeRan’s chairman, Tao," noticing Frankenstein, Yuna smiled happily, and our previous chairman, Frankenstein.” Yuna touched Dea’s arm and tried to encourage her to come closer with them. “She is in our year at the university. We three are planning a collaboration project and, with your permission, would like to do some work for the school.”

“For free? Well, I always have an eye for a bargain. Let sit and you can go over your ideas.”


	3. Fleeting Memory

Dea and Frankenstein stepped out of the office. The other’s were going over content that would be useful in the project. Frankenstein volunteered to take Dea around the school for photos. As he inserted what Dea guessed to be a surveillance earpiece, she looked up at him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to be in need of fresh air. The man looked utterly weary. He needed some sleep. “May I take your picture?”

A smile snapped onto his face and he suddenly looked quite charming. “Right now? Shall I pose for you?” One arm lifted and brushed through his hair as the other rested on his hip.

~Click~Click~Click~ It wasn’t what she was aiming for but she never took back an opportunity. Perhaps more clarification was in order. “You have a natural sex appeal, but I was not aiming to capture that. Would it bother you if I took pictures when you are not expecting it?”

His mouth formed an ~ah~ and his smile shifted to a natural one. His eyes drifted shut and he shook his head. Another few clicks reached his ears. “As long as it isn’t the only thing you do, it should be fine.”

“I try not to snap in peoples’ faces unless they want me to.” They walked down the hall in a slow, steady pace. It was as if he were giving her plenty of time to take a picture if something struck her. “You look very tired. What sort of work do you do now that you are not chairman?” It was a more polite way to say ‘You look awful. Is that why you quit?’

“I own YeRan High School and promoted Tao to chairman so I could focus on my research.”

She nodded even though she felt that wasn’t the reason. It wasn’t her place to pry. Here and there, she paused for a good shot to show off the school and its classrooms.

Frankenstein looked back at her, noticing she was leading them, not the other way around. It surprised him as much as her not continuing the small talk to ask what sort of research he did. “I lost someone,” It was a date he couldn’t forget and he repeated it down to the hour. The woman made him want to talk. “He was very special to me.”

Dea looked up a little surprised by the timing, not the loss. “Boyfriend?”

There was widening of his eyes to show how the thought shocked him. “No,” A strange, wicked smile lifted his lips, “I have a different lover.” He heard another click and looked down at her only to find her looking at her digital screen as she walked. “Have you lost a loved one?” 

“Both Parents, same time. Your friend didn’t happen to die driving did he?”

“Driving?” Frankenstein looked back at her, questioning. The way she looked up at him with narrow eyes made him understand. “Oh! No he didn’t drive.” So she lost her parents in a car accident. He stopped even though she kept walking. “Wait you mean to tell me your parents died at the same time as my…” He almost said Master. “As my friend?”

Dea nodded and was stopping again to snap pictures of one of the classrooms.

“Where were you when it happened?”

“In the back seat.” She was looking at her camera display as he came closer. “I almost died.” She was scrolling quickly through her shots without really seeing them. “I should have died.” A picture came up on the screen that she hadn’t realized she was navigating to. “It should have been me, not your friend.”

Frankenstein looked down over her shoulder at the image and saw a happy smiling family of 4. Dea looked like a different person from the photo with the young girl with dark brown hair, rosy cheeks and a bright smile. He didn’t think he’d seen her smile once yet. “It,” Franken swallowed, and said softly, “It was his time.” He looked up at the classroom number and paled. How did they wander to Master’s old classroom? “We should head back.” He turned and moved down the hall, but she wasn’t following him. Glancing back over his shoulder to look for her, he saw her disappear into the classroom.

~Click~Click~Click~

Dea held her camera close to her eye, but was looking back and forth between the image she took and the image of beauty at the window. The desk had many little tokens on its surface: framed pictures, cards, little tokens of affection and, strangely, a pack of ramen. The beauty sitting at the desk reached out to touch the items, but didn’t move any of them. Dea approached softly and slowly, scared to scare the vision away. Kneeling next to the desk and pulling off her backpack, she framed him again in her viewfinder. She lost his shape in the glare of the setting sun. Pulling away enough to see he was still there, she framed him again, catching how the sunlight streamed through him. 

“Master!” Frankenstein stood in the doorway, unwilling to let his hopes overcome him. He pressed a hand to his ear and whispered, “Tao, are you seeing this or am I dreaming?”

In his earpiece he heard “It’s… it is Rai,” followed by the girls' shocked questions and responses from the others on the same channel.

Feeling Frankenstein come closer and kneel much as she had was the last thing Dea noticed. If her camera hadn’t been strapped around her neck it would have dropped to the floor. The vision stood and she followed. A red tear slipped down the girls cheek matching the one trailing down Raizel’s cheek. His hand lifted to catch the tear on his own check, then stretched out to catch the one on Dea’s cheek. The soft touch of his hand made Dea lean into his palm and close her eyes. Clear tears were streaming down her face, now. “It should have been me, not you.”

“Your parents last wish was for you to live.” Rai’s eyes glowed bright red and his thumb moved to brush the blood over her lip. “Let us both live.” When Dea’s eyes opened they were as bright and red as Rai’s and his soul vanished into them with a whisper of, “Awaken!”


	4. A Noblesse is Born

An Dea floated in a world of red. It was familiar. Two years ago, she had visited this world but thought it was just a dream. When she had lay, bleeding, in the car, the sounds of sirens had been in her ears long before the ambulance reached them. Her heart pounded in her chest and thrummed in her ears. Her heartbeat slowly faded to a slow pulse. It was the same feeling.

_ ‘You are not the same.’ _

Wasn’t she?

_ ‘No, you are not the same as you were then.’ _

She wanted to deny it. The EMT’s had worked furiously on her on the scene and transported her to the hospital. They rushed her to surgery. Bandages were removed and there had been a huge commotion. Something had been mixed up, they claimed. The doctors had released her within a day. Since then, Dea hadn't been sick or injured.

Did she die?

_ ‘You are not dead.’ _

That though sounded slightly amused. Why was there a voice in her head? Did she get possessed? Did she care? 

_ 'We do care.' _

“You care about everyone around you, fighting so desperately to protect them.” 

_ ‘I do.’ _

“I’d like to be able to protect others. But If I get close to them, I might not be able to do the right thing.”

_ ‘You will.’ _

“But I’m just one human.”

_ ‘Not anymore.’ _

“Not one or not human?”

_ ‘Both.’ _

“Who _ are _ you?”

_ ‘I was Cadis Etrama Di Raizel’ _

"You're not anymore? Because you died?" The flash of Frankenstein's face, torn by his lost friend came to mind. She felt a pang of regret and sorrow.

_ 'Because I am you.' _

"Then who am I?"

_ 'You are now the holder of my bloodline, my soul and my name. You are Cadis Etrama An Dea. Now breath.’ _

Dea sucked in a breath. Once again she saw the classroom as the glowing red in her eyes faded and she slowly started to collapse. Frankenstein jumped up to catch the girl before she hit the ground. His Master had vanished, but he knew he saw him disappear into the young woman, not disintegrate. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. When they opened again, he noted Dea’s eyes were no longer brown.

There was crying at the door. Everyone had rushed to the room when Tao announced seeing Rai. The girls held each other in a hug and cried on the other's shoulder. M-21 had a hand over his eyes and Shinwoo who he was training as a guard had his whole arm across his face. A cry seemed to be held in by Tao, with a hand over his mouth. Takeo had closed his eyes and half turned away.

Dea's eyes looked up at Frankenstein, who looked torn. "Your eyes," Frankenstein whispered, "they are his eyes."

"They are my eyes." She said defensively and pulled out of his arms. Picking up her bag, she slipped it onto her shoulder and glanced at everyone gathered at the door. "Why is everyone crying?" Since the chair was pushed out from under the desk, she returned it to its proper place. She touched the items on the desktop before taking them and slipping in her bag.

"What… what do you think you're doing?" Shinwoo demanded. "Leave those there. Those aren't yours."

"Yes they are." Dea said softly. 

M-21 and Shinwoo stepped forward to stop her but Frankenstein held up a hand and blocked them from getting closer. His eyes never left the young woman. "What are you going to do with them?"

A soft smile lifted her lips as she held up one photo of Rai and the kids at school. "Remember things." Tucking it away, she picked up the last thing, a pack of ramen, and turned to Frankenstein. "Make this for me."

Frankenstein took the pack. He smiled and bowed to Dea. "Yes, Master."


	5. Ramen!

Everyone was quiet. It wasn't that they were talking to each other. It was just they were speaking in hushed tones. Not that Dea couldn't hear them. She could hear everything. The flicker of the flame under the pot he cooked in; the scrape of the spoon on the bottom of the pan; the kids breathing in between whispers as they sat on the couches in Frankenstein's home; the slightest sound was vividly crisp in her ears. They were all talking about her but she didn't mind. Mostly, they seemed focused on why she was sitting on the counter cross-legged with her elbows on her knees and hands holding up her head. 

Where else could she get a good view of how Frankenstein was cooking? The pocky she was nibbling on flipped up and down as she took in his features. There was a muscle twitching above his jaw, extending up to his temple. "Am I bothering you?" 

He froze. The face Frankenstein turned towards her had his eyes closed from his forced smile. " No not at all." When he opened his eyes from her silence, he found he had turned only inches from her face. "You might want to scoot back a little. When the water boils, it might splash you."

Maybe she was sitting a little close. Their noses were close to touching. Dea's lips were pursed around the pocky stick. She used her tongue to flip it up and pop him on the tip of his nose.

He jumped back like he'd been burned. Unfortunately, he probably did burn himself on the pot when he jerked away by the way he waved his hand. "Frankenstein." Dea said to draw his attention to her.

"What!" he snapped before the anger wiped from his face, going red before blanching white.

"You should put ice on that."

Stomping past her perch, he went to the fridge where he nearly tore the freezer door off to get a handful of ice. He left his hand there a moment, letting the cold help him think. This edgy feeling was starting to worry him. Lack of sleep could be pointed out as part of his problem but Frankie feared it was deeper. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out with his left hand while his right held the fridge door to hide. The text read ~Boss? Is the bond you two shared gone? You seem a little less… in control than you were when He was here.~

"The bond is not gone, it's just broken."

The freezer door slowly closed and everyone looked at Dea. Tao dropped his phone in his lap and scrambled to pick it up again. She peeked back at them over her shoulder, still facing the stove and the boiling water. M-21 shook his head, left his coffee cup at his island stool and came over to remove the ice from Frankenstein's hand before it melted, or was crushed. He wrapped a towel around the ice and took Frankenstein’s hand to apply Ice to the burn. “It doesn’t look too bad. A little cold should cool down the sting.”

“Is he your lover?”

M-21 blinked at Dea, flipped Frankie’s hand over and dropped the ice wrap on it. “I’ll let you explain your ‘lover’.” He walked to the other side of the island and sat back down, unphased and sipped his coffee.

Takeo was choking on his coffee and laughter beside M-21. Frankenstein returned from the fridge with the ingredients he planned to use. The temptation to drop it all on the counter was resisted and he just sucked in a long breath and let it out through his nose. At least there was some space between them now. She seemed happy to crunch on her treat. Scallions stretched out on the cutting board, Frankie started chopping for the dish.

Dea scooted around to let her legs hang off the counter. Her eyes were curious and wide as she asked, “Does your lover live here too? Will I get to meet them?”

"Son of a," Fankenstein silenced any possible vulgarities by pressing his cut knuckle to his lips. Eyes tightly shut, he tried to suppress dark spear's urge to come out and meet Dea in person.

"Dea!" hissed Suyi from the couch. "You don't just ask a man about his lovers." 

"Well," Yuna said, " I asked Shinwoo once."

Shinwoo laughed and rubbed his nose. "I asked the hyungs once."

Tao just laughed uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his head. Takeo and M-21 just hunched over their coffees.

"The water is boiling. Do I put the noodles in now?" 

He tried to drive away the urge to scrape the whole mess right into the pot. The urge to retie the bond and sooth the chaos in his mind was compelling to say the least. Frankenstein opened his eyes and moved to the sink to wash the blood and onion of his knife. As he turned the water on, he saw no blood on the knife. A glance back at the cutting board revealed no blood on its surface or the chopped onions. "No." His face was pale when he looked at Dea again.

She held her thumb and pointer finger together like she was holding something and brought it up eye level. Frankie was close enough to see the drop of blood suspended there. The smile she gave him showed she knew much more than she led them to believe. Was she purposely antagonizing him to see how bad the broken link was affecting him? To remind Frankie of the difference between his soothing presence and how it was before?

Her thumb brushed over her lip like Dea was brushing pocky crumbs away. Frankenstein felt the difference more than saw it. Dark spear retreated deep inside him. Chaos reigned in and the peaceful familiarity of her presence soaked up the sadness of his lost friend.

"Eggs in the water," he said with his first real smile in a long time. "Onions, garlic and ginger in the other pan to simmer. We will add soy and mirin after a few minutes and finally the stock. Noodles are actually the last item on our to do list."

Reaching across the counter she grabbed 2 eggs out of the carton. "I got the eggs. Do I just drop them in?" 

Frankenstein took the eggs before she could. "I'll do it. No need for you to cook. You can sit with your friends."

"But I want to watch how this lovely," she watched him gently set the eggs in the water. "Fragrant," she added as the ingredients hit the hot oil in the pan and sizzled. "Tasty dish is made."

"Eat your Pocky." It wasn't as quiet now. The tension had left the house. Conversation had increased. The girls were talking about the project, telling Shinwoo to call Ik-han and invite him over so they could ask if he could help. Takeo and M-21 were loudly complaining about their new boss and his strict schedule. "Worse than me?" Frankenstein asked the two behind him. 

"Well, I don't know about that," M-21 pondered.

"I've definitely had worse bosses," said Takeo with a nod.

_ ~This was how it should be.~ _

Dea wiped at a tear that threatened to fall from the corner of her eye. This was a family, no matter how mismatched it was. It was her family now. "Oh? What has he made you do?"

Takeo said, "Taste tests."

"So many bowls of Ramen." M-21 groaned.

Tao piped up from across the room, "not just ramen."

"True," Takeo frowned. "It's amazing we haven't gained weight."

"I like ramen," M-21 added, "it prolonged my life. But tasting again and again when he's micromanaging a recipe." He just shook his head.

"Wait, prolonged your life? Please tell me this story." Dea encouraged M-21 to start. He started with a half smile and began a tale describing his own reluctant kidnapping. Soon everyone had drifted over to the island to listen and add to the story from their own point of view. Dea ended up sitting on one of the island stools beside M-21, totally engrossed in the tale that she didn't notice the ramen was ready until the bowl was set in front of her.

It was a true masterpiece; a thing of beauty that she was reluctant to disturb. As everyone else also received a bowl, Shinwoo noticed Dea hadn't touched her's yet.

"Awe don't tell me you're waiting until it multiplies!"

Dea looked up startled. "And let it get soggy? No, I was just being polite and waiting for everyone to be served." Seeing Frankenstein move to clean up, she added a little louder, "and sit down to eat." The others stared at her a moment and she heard a thought of ~better multiplied~. She heard a chuckle and waited for Franken to sit with them all. "Thank you for the food!"

It smelled so good to Dea. Scooping up a bit of noodles with her chopsticks, she blew on them lightly before taking that first bite. Exquisite delicate flavor was far surpassing a cup of instant noodles she would buy before. Even the restaurant by campus, as good as it was, paled in comparison. Her enjoyment and pleasure showed on her face as she let the flavors and texture roll over her tongue. Her eyes slipped closed, little mmm's escaped her and her left hand rested on the pulse in her neck. Everyone around her complimented the dish, praised Frankie's cooking and presentation. When she opened her eyes, Dea found Frankenstein staring back at her. He was flushed and frozen as if he forgot he was eating. "Good Job, Franken."


End file.
